Imperial Loakal Red | The Bruery

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Imperial Loakal Red is just what you expect, a bigger, maltier, more intense version of our hoppy, oaky red ale. Coming in at nearly double the abv of regular Loakal Red, this beer retains the essence of the base beer with notes of citrus, vanilla and oak, but brings it all to that next level. Definitely a great one to share with friends.

Bought from Bruery archive sale. Smell is malty and some fruit. Taste is the same. Kind of get that sweaty sock flavor on the back end. This is turning into a barleywine. Not bad for what it is. Would have liked to have tried this fresh.

Vintage 2015
750ml Bottle
12% APV
Poured into a tulip glass at 50deg.
This beer is an archive release from The Bruery.

Look - Pours with a red brown color with a moderately thick two finger head. Low head retention with light lacing.

Smell - Dark fruits, malt, toffee, oak and vanilla dominate on first sniff. This was followed by a very light citrus notes.

Taste - Dark fruits, dates, plums, malty, toffee, and vanilla oak. Sweet but not too sweet. Great balance leaning toward malty, with the light citrus hop flavor and a hint of alcohol. I decided to have a small bite of dark chocolate just to see what would happen... Wow! All of the favors just paraded though one by one. Some spicy notes were added, and the citrus flavors are more pronounced. It was an incredible transformation...

Feel - Medium body with moderate carbonation. The carbonation went away in a short time. It finished moderately dry.

Overall - This is a great beer! I know that it is advertised to have more of a hoppy profile then I found, but who cares. This beer leans to the malty side, but have that small bite of dark chocolate and everything comes in loud and clear. Myself and my friend that I shared it with was equally impressed.

The taste is harsh with raw oak and solvent alcohol giving way to some fruity esters. It is bitter with pine and grass fading to something more slightly herbal.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is boozy and solvent that goes down kinda rough. While drinking this with friends, someone drew the comparison to bigfoot. While not the same, I can certainly relate. This really isnt a red ale, a classification of baleywine would certainly be more fitting.